Nor flash memory and manufacturing method thereof

ABSTRACT

An NOR flash memory comprising a memory cell of a 3D structure and a manufacturing method thereof are provided. The flash memory  100  includes a plurality of columnar portions  120 , a plurality of charge accumulating portions  130  and a plurality of control gates  140 . The columnar portions  120  extend from a surface of a silicon substrate  110  in a vertical direction and include an active region. The charge accumulating portions  130  are formed by way of surrounding a side portion of each columnar portion  120 . The control gates  140  are formed by way of surrounding a side portion of each charge accumulating portion  130 . One end portion of the columnar portion  120  is electrically connected to a bit line  150  via a contact hole, and another end portion of the columnar portion  120  is electrically connected to a conductive region formed on a surface of the silicon substrate  110.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional application of and claims the prioritybenefit of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/892,350, filed on Feb. 8, 2018,which claims the priority benefit of Japan application serial no.2017-037089, filed on Feb. 28, 2017. The entirety of each of theabove-mentioned patent applications is hereby incorporated by referenceherein and made a part of this specification.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a NOR flash memory, and particularly relates toa structure of a memory cell.

Description of Related Art

Flash memories generally include NAND flash memories and NOR flashmemories. In the NAND flash memory, by constructing a memory cell arrayincluding a NAND string, an occupation area thereof is decreased toimplement a highly-integrated memory cell array. On the other hand, theNOR flash memory is a structure configuring a memory cell between a bitline and a source line, although a high-speed random access may beperformed to one memory cell, it is required to contact each of thememory cells, and compared to the NAND flash memory, an occupation areaof the memory cells of the NOR flash memory is large.

In order to improve an integration degree, the NOR flash memory adopts avirtual grounding mode or a multi-value mode. In the typical virtualgrounding mode, a source/drain of the memory cell is commonly used as asource/drain of a memory cell located adjacent to the above memory cellalong a row direction, and the commonly used source and drain areelectrically connected to the bit line. In a reading operation, a groundlevel is applied to the source of the selected memory cell, and areading voltage is applied to the drain, and the source/drain of theadjacent memory cell is in a floating state (patent literature 1, 2).

In the multi-value mode, by controlling charges of a charge accumulatingregion facing a floating gate or trapping charges, a plurality ofthresholds is set to the memory cells. A patent literature 3 discloses amirror bit type flash memory to serve as a charge trapping typemulti-value memory. In the flash memory, an ONO film of oxidefilm-nitride film-oxide film is formed between a surface of a siliconsubstrate and a gate electrode to trap the charges to a boundary of theoxide film and the nitride film. By changing a voltage applied to thesource/drain, the charges are respectively kept on a source side and adrain side of the nitride film (a charge accumulating layer) to storedata of 2 bits to a memory cell. Moreover, a following structure isprovided, i.e. a separated ONO film is formed near two ends of the gateelectrode to separate the charge accumulating region in a physicalmanner.

Moreover, along with high integration of semiconductor devices,three-dimensional (3D) NAND flash memories stacking the memory cells inthree-dimension or along a vertical direction have been developed (forexample, a patent literature 4). On a semiconductor substrate of theflash memory, a plurality of pillars extending from a surface of thesemiconductor substrate along the vertical direction is formed, and amemory film containing a tunnelling insulation layer, a chargeaccumulating layer and a barrier insulation layer surrounds a sidewallof each of the pillars.

EXISTING TECHNICAL LITERATURES Patent Literatures

-   [Patent literature 1] Japan Patent Publication No. 2003-100092-   [Patent literature 2] Japan Patent Publication No. H 11-110987-   [Patent literature 3] Japan Patent Publication No. 2009-283740-   [Patent literature 4] Japan Patent Publication No. 2016-58494

Problems to be Resolved

The NOR flash memory also has reduced memory cells under requirements ofhigh operation current and high integration degree, though a scalingratio thereof is reaching a limit. If a channel length of the memorycell is shortened, a distance between the source and the drain is alsoshortened, alternatively, if a design rule is reduced, the distancebetween the gate electrode and the source/drain is also shortened, andthe memory cell may be randomly conducted due to accidental breakdown,which is a reason of read error or write error, etc. Moreover, even incase of such situation, an operation time of a programming or deletingoperation is also required to be reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is directed to resolve the aforementioned problems, andprovide an NOR flash memory comprising a memory cell of athree-dimensional structure and a manufacturing method thereof.

Technical Means for Resolving the Problems

The invention provides a NOR flash memory including a substrate; aconductive region, formed on the substrate; a plurality of columnarportions, extending from a surface of the substrate in a verticaldirection and including an active region; a plurality of chargeaccumulating portions, formed by way of surrounding a side portion ofeach of the columnar portions; and a plurality of control gates, formedby way of surrounding a side portion of each of the charge accumulatingportions. One end portion of the columnar portion is electricallyconnected to a bit line via a contact hole, and another end portion ofthe columnar portion is electrically connected to the conductive region.

Preferably, the columnar portion includes silicon or polysilicon, wherea drain region is formed at one end portion of the columnar portion, anda source region is formed at another end portion of the columnarportion. Preferably, the columnar portion substantially has acylindrical shape, and the charge accumulating portion surrounds a sideportion of the cylindrical shape by a circle. Preferably, the chargeaccumulating portion includes an oxide film (O), a nitride film (N) andan oxide film (O). Preferably, the conductive region is an n⁺ siliconlayer formed on a silicon substrate. Preferably, the conductive regionis a metal layer formed on the silicon substrate and an n⁺ polysiliconlayer on the metal layer. Preferably, the metal layer is a high meltingpoint silicide layer. Preferably, the conductive region constructs asource line, and is commonly connected to the columnar portions.Preferably, the substrate is a silicon substrate, a peripheral circuitof a memory cell is formed on the silicon substrate, and the memory cellis formed on the conductive region formed on the silicon substrate.

The invention provides a method for manufacturing a NOR flash memory,which includes following steps: forming a conductive region on asubstrate; forming a buffer layer on the conductive region; forming anopening reaching the conductive region in the buffer layer; forming asilicon layer or a polysilicon layer in a region containing the opening;removing a part of the silicon layer or the polysilicon layer, andforming a columnar portion containing silicon or polysilicon on thesubstrate; forming a charge accumulating portion in way of surrounding aside portion of the columnar portion; forming a control gate by way ofsurrounding a side portion of the charge accumulating portion; formingan inter-layer insulation film on the substrate including the columnarportion and the control gate; and forming a contact hole in theinter-layer insulation film, and forming a bit line electricallyconnected to one end portion of the columnar portion.

Preferably, the method further includes a step of planarizing thesilicon layer or the polysilicon layer until the buffer layer isexposed. Preferably, the step of forming the buffer layer includesforming a first buffer layer, and forming a second buffer layer on thefirst buffer layer. The method further includes a step of selectivelyremoving the second buffer layer after the silicon layer or thepolysilicon layer is planarized. Preferably, the method further includesa step of diffusing a dopant of the conductive region to the end portionof the columnar portion. Preferably, the method further includes a stepof forming an insulation layer on the substrate, and forming a metallayer on the insulation layer, where the conductive region is formed onthe metal layer. Preferably, the metal layer is a high melting pointsilicide metal.

Effects of the Invention

In the invention, by constructing the memory cell in three-dimension, anactive region of the memory cell is formed without being limited by atwo-dimension scale. In this way, high integration and high operationcurrent of the memory cell are simultaneously implemented.

In order to make the aforementioned and other features and advantages ofthe invention comprehensible, several exemplary embodiments accompaniedwith figures are described in detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of theinvention and, together with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the invention.

FIG. 1(A) is a three-dimensional view of a schematic structure of a NORflash memory according to an embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 1(B)is a three-dimensional view of schematic structures of bit lines andcontrol gates.

FIG. 2(A) is a three-dimensional view of a columnar portion of a memorycell according to an embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 2(B) is across-sectional view of FIG. 2(A) along a section line A-A.

FIG. 3 is an equivalent circuit diagram of a NOR memory cell.

FIG. 4(A) to FIG. 4(D) are schematic cross-sectional views ofmanufacturing steps of the NOR flash memory according to a firstembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5(A) to FIG. 5(C) are schematic cross-sectional views ofmanufacturing steps of the NOR flash memory according to the firstembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6(A) to FIG. 6(C) are schematic cross-sectional views ofmanufacturing steps of the NOR flash memory according to the firstembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a manufacturing step ofthe NOR flash memory according to the first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8(A) to FIG. 8(D) are schematic cross-sectional views ofmanufacturing steps of the NOR flash memory according to a secondembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9(A) to FIG. 9(C) are schematic cross-sectional views ofmanufacturing steps of the NOR flash memory according to the secondembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 10(A) to FIG. 10(C) are schematic cross-sectional views ofmanufacturing steps of the NOR flash memory according to the secondembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a manufacturing step ofthe NOR flash memory according to the second embodiment of theinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferredembodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. An NOR flash memory of a three-dimensional (3D)structure is introduced. Moreover, figures are drawn in order to easilydescribe the invention, and it should be noted that a scale of eachcomponent shown in the figures is not necessarily complied with a scaleof an actual device.

Embodiments

FIG. 1(A) is a schematic three-dimensional view of columnar potions ofmemory units of the NOR flash memory according to an embodiment of theinvention, and FIG. 1(B) is a schematic three-dimensional view of bitlines and control gates connected to the columnar potions.

As shown in FIG. 1(A), the NOR flash memory 100 of the presentembodiment includes a semiconductor substrate 110, a plurality ofcolumnar portions 120 extending from a surface of the semiconductorsubstrate 110 in a vertical direction; and a plurality of chargeaccumulating portions 130 formed by way of surrounding a side portion ofeach of the columnar portions 120. The semiconductor substrate 110 is,for example, a silicon substrate. The columnar portion 120, for example,includes cylindrical silicon or polysilicon, and forms an active regionor a channel region of a memory cell. In case that the memory cell hasan n-type metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) structure, the columnarportion 120, for example, includes p-type silicon or polysilicon.

FIG. 2(A) is a three-dimensional view of the columnar portion 120, andFIG. 2(B) is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 2(A) along a section lineA-A. The columnar portion 120 has a cylindrical shape with a diameter Dand a length L1 along a vertical direction. However, this is an example,the columnar portion 120 may also be prism-like. As described below, thediameter D of the columnar portion 120 is determined by a size of anopening formed in the buffer layer, and the length L1 is determined by athickness of the buffer layer. A drain region is formed at an endportion of the columnar portion 120, and a source region is formed atanother end portion of the columnar portion 120. When the memory cellhas an n-type MOS structure, the drain region and the source region arerespectively n-type.

The charge accumulating portion 130 completely surrounds a roughlycentral side portion of the columnar portion 120 in a belt shape. Thecharge accumulating portion 130 includes a layer or a boundary used foraccumulating charges. Ideally, the charge accumulating portion 130includes a substance with a higher dielectric constant, so as to providea high capacitance coupling between the control gate 140 and thecolumnar portion 120. For example, counting from the inside, the chargeaccumulating portion 130 sequentially includes an oxide film (O) 132, anitride film (N) 134 and an oxide film (O) 136, and the charges aretrapped to the boundary of the ONO film. A length of the chargeaccumulating portion 130 in the vertical direction is L2 (L2<L1), andthe length L2 is substantially equivalent to a channel length.

As shown in FIG. 1(B), the control gates 140 are formed by way ofsurrounding the charge accumulating portions 130 of the columnarportions 120. One end portion S1 of the columnar portion 120 is thedrain region, and each drain region of the columnar portions 120 in arow direction is commonly and electrically connected to a bit line 150,and another end portion S2 of the columnar portion 120 is the sourceregion, and each source region of the columnar portions 120 is commonlyand electrically connected to a source line SL. The control gate 140 iselectrically connected to a word line that is now shown, and when anoperation voltage is applied to the word line, an electric field isapplied to the columnar portion 120 through the charge accumulatingportions 130. When a reading operation is performed, if electrons arenot accumulated to the charge accumulating portions 130, a largerelectric field is applied to the columnar portion 120 compared to thesituation that electrons are accumulated to the charge accumulatingportions 130, so as to form an inversion layer at the columnar portion120, and a current flows between the source/drain. If electrons areaccumulated to the charge accumulating portions 130, the inversion layeris not formed, and the current does not flow between the source/drain.In the present embodiment, the columnar portion 120 substantially hasthe cylindrical shape, and the belt-like charge accumulating portion 130surrounds the columnar portion 120. In this way, the electric fielduniformly functions on the periphery of the columnar portion 120 fromthe control gate 140, so as to form a ring-like inversion layer at theperiphery of the columnar portion 120.

FIG. 3 is an equivalent circuit diagram of a memory cell. When a readingoperation is performed to the memory cell, a reading voltage is appliedto a word line WL, a certain positive voltage is applied to a bit lineBL, and a ground voltage GND is applied to the source line SL. Whencharges are accumulated to the charge accumulating portion 130, athreshold of the memory cell is increased, and the memory cell operatesin a turn-off manner, and when charges are accumulated to the chargeaccumulating portion 130, the threshold of the memory cell is decreased,and the memory cell operates in a turn-on manner.

When data is programmed to the memory cell, a high voltage is applied tothe word line WL, the positive voltage is applied to the bit line BL,the ground voltage GND is applied to the source line SL, and the memorycell is turned on. In this way, the current flows to the source from thedrain, and hot electrons produced in the channel are trapped by thecharge accumulating portion (ONO) 130.

There are two methods for deleting data held by the memory cell. Onemethod is to release the charges trapped by the charge accumulatingportion 130 to the substrate through Fowler-Nordheim (FN) tunnelling.For example, a negative voltage is applied to the word line WL of thememory cell, and a positive voltage is applied to the channel regionside to make the source and the drain to be in a floating state, and theelectrons may pass through the charge accumulating portion 130 forreleasing to the channel region. Another method is to inject hot holesto the charge accumulating portion 130 to couple the hot holes and thetrapped charges. In this case, the negative voltage is applied to theword line of the memory unit and the positive voltage is applied to thedrain region to make the source region to be in the floating state, andthe hot holes are injected to the charge accumulating portion 130.

Then, referring to FIG. 4(A) to FIG. 7 for a manufacturing method ofmemory cells according to a first embodiment of the invention. Forsimplicity's sake, formation of one memory cell is shown in the figures.As shown in FIG. 4(A), a silicon substrate 200 is prepared. The siliconsubstrate 200 is a semi-insulating i-type or p-type substrate. Dopantions such as phosphorus or arsenic ions are implanted into a surface ofthe silicon substrate 200 to form an n⁺ high dopant layer 210 on thesurface of the silicon substrate 200. An ion implantation energy andtime are properly selected based on a dopant concentration or filmthickness of the high dopant layer 210. The high dopant layer 210constructs the source line SL of the memory cell array.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4(B), a first buffer layer 220 is formed on awhole surface of the high dopant layer 210. The first buffer layer 220is, for example, a silicon oxide film (SiO₂). Then, a second bufferlayer 230 is formed on a whole surface of the first buffer layer 220.The second buffer layer 230 is, for example, a silicon nitride film(SiN). The first buffer layer 220 and the second buffer layer 230 are,for example, deposited through chemical vapour deposition (CVD).

Then, as shown in FIG. 4(C), a mask layer 240 is formed on the secondbuffer layer 230. The mask layer 240 is, for example, a photoresistlayer, and in the mask layer 240, a round-shaped opening with a diameterof D is formed through a photolithography step. Then, the mask layer 240is used as an etching mask to perform an anisotropic dry etching to thesecond buffer layer 230 and the first buffer layer 220. Preferably, anetchant with a larger selection ratio between the first buffer layer 220and the high dopant layer 210 is selected. In this way, the etchingprocess is easily stopped at a time point of reaching the high dopantlayer 210. As a result, an opening 250 with the diagram D that reachesthe high dopant layer 210 is substantially formed in the second bufferlayer 230 and the first buffer layer 220.

Then, the mask layer 240 is removed, as shown in FIG. 4(D), in the wholesurface of the second buffer layer 230 containing the opening 250, apolysilicon layer 260 with a fixed film thickness is formed through theCVD. The polysilicon layer 260 fills the opening 250, and thepolysilicon filled in the opening 250 becomes the columnar portionproviding the active region or the channel region of the memory cell. Incase that the memory cell has an n-type MOS structure, the polysiliconlayer 260 may be p-type polysilicon doped with boron, etc. Moreover, asubstance other than the polysilicon may also be used for constructingthe columnar portion. In this case, the silicon layer (the high dopantlayer 210) exposed by the opening 250 may be taken as a start point forepitaxial growth of the silicon layer. The silicon layer fills theopening 250 and grows to achieve a film thickness covering the wholesurface of the second buffer layer 230.

Then, a planarization processing or an etch back processing is performedto the polysilicon layer 260. The planarization processing is preferablyimplemented through chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), as shown inFIG. 5(A), until the second buffer layer 230 is exposed. In this way,the columnar portion 120 containing polysilicon is formed in the opening250. A length of the columnar portion 120 along an axial directionspecifies the active region or the channel length of the memory cell.Therefore, the planarization processing is ideally performed through theCMP in a high precision. Then, phosphorus or arsenic ions are implantedto the whole surface of the second buffer layer 230 containing thecolumnar portion 120. Through the ion implantation, an end portion ofthe columnar portion 120 forms an n-type drain region. By properlyselecting the ion implantation energy and time, etc., a desired drainregion depth and dopant concentration may be obtained. Moreover, besidesthe ion implantation, an n⁺ layer may be formed on the whole surface,and through solid-phase diffusion, the drain region is formed on thecolumnar portion 120.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5(B), the second buffer layer 230 is removed. Awet etching process selective to the first buffer layer 220 is performedto remove the second buffer layer 230. In this way, only a bottomportion of the columnar portion 120 is surrounded by the first bufferlayer 220, and a side portion and a top portion of the columnar portion120 are exposed. It should be noted that by properly selecting thethickness of the first buffer layer 220 or the thickness of the secondbuffer layer 230, the length of the columnar portion 120 and a range ofthe exposed side portion may be determined.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5(C), a charge accumulating portion 270 is formedon the whole surface of the first buffer layer 220 containing thecolumnar portion 120. The charge accumulating portion 270 has an ONOstructure of an oxide film (O) 272, a nitride film (N) 274 and an oxidefilm (O) 276, and each film is formed in a fixed film thickness.

Then, referring to FIG. 6(A), a conductive layer 280 for a control gateis formed on the whole surface in a fixed film thickness in a mode ofcovering the charge accumulating portion 270. The conductive layer 280may be a metal material such as polysilicon doped with a dopant, Al, Cu,etc. Moreover, the conductive layer 280 may also include polysilicon andone or a plurality of metal layers (for example, TiN, W) formed on thepolysilicon.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6(B), the conductive layer 280 is etched in amanner of exposing the charge accumulating portion 270. The etchingprocess is not particularly specified, for example, the etching processmay be implemented through two steps. First, the conductive layer 280 isplanarized to a fixed film thickness through the CMP, and then anetchant selective to the charge accumulating portion 270 is used to etchthe conductive layer 280. In this way, the charge accumulating portion270 at the top portion of the columnar potion 120 is exposed to obtainthe belt-like conductive layer 280 covering the side portion of thecolumnar portion 120.

Then, an inter-layer insulation film 290 such as a silicon oxide filmis, for example, formed on the whole surface of the substrate. Then, amask layer (which is omitted in the figure) such as an anti-etchinglayer, etc., is formed on the inter-layer insulation film 290, and anopening is formed in the mask layer through a photolithography step.Then, as shown in FIG. 6(C), the inter-layer insulation film 290 and thecharge accumulating portion 270 are etched by using the mask layer toform a contact hole 300 reaching the columnar portion 120 in theinter-layer insulation film 290.

Then, as shown in FIG. 7, a metal material 310 used for constructing thebit line is formed on the whole surfaced of the substrate containing thecontact hole 300. The metal material 310 is, for example, Al or Cu.Then, the metal material 310 is processed into the bit line through thephotolithography step. Moreover, in the steps of FIG. 4(D) to FIG. 6(C),a fixed temperature is applied to the substrata, and in the above steps,the dopant of the high dopant layer 210 is diffused to the end portionof the columnar portion 120 to form an n-type source diffusion region320 at the end portion of the columnar portion 120. The film thicknessof the first buffer layer 220 is adjusted in a manner of equivalent tothe dopant diffusion distance counted from the high dopant layer 210.

By forming the high dopant layer 210 (i.e. the source line SL) on thewhole surface of the silicon substrate 200, the source diffusion regions320 of all of the memory cells of the memory cell array may be commonlyconnected to the source line SL. Alternatively, by forming a pluralityof high dopant layers 210 in selected regions of the surface of thesilicon substrate 200, the source diffusion regions 320 of the selectedmemory cells may be commonly connected to the source line SL.

Then, referring to FIG. 8(A) to FIG. 11 for a manufacturing method ofmemory cells according to a second embodiment of the invention. In thesecond embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8(A), an insulation layer 400 isformed on the silicon substrate 200. The insulation layer 400 is, forexample, a silicon oxide film. Then, a metal layer 410 is formed on theinsulation layer 400. In order to tolerate a high temperature procedurein the following steps, the metal layer 410 is preferably a high meltingpoint material, for example, a silicide metal such as WSi, etc. Then, ann⁺ high dopant polysilicon layer 420 doped with a dopant such asphosphorus or arsenic, etc. is formed on the metal layer 410. Thesubsequent steps FIG. 8(B) to FIG. 11 are similar to the steps of FIG.4(B) to FIG. 7 of the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 11, the dopant is diffused from the n⁺ polysiliconlayer 420 to form the source diffusion region 320 at the columnarportion 120. The metal layer 410 and the n⁺ polysilicon layer 420construct the source line SL, and are commonly connected to all of thememory cells of the memory cell array or the source diffusion regions320 of the selected memory cells. Moreover, a peripheral circuit may beformed on the silicon substrate 200 lower than the memory cell array,i.e. in the region where the peripheral circuit is formed, theinsulation layer 400, the metal layer 410 and the polysilicon layer 420are removed to form the peripheral circuit on the surface of the siliconsubstrate 200.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the structure of theinvention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the invention covermodifications and variations of this invention provided they fall withinthe scope of the following claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for manufacturing a NOR flash memory,comprising: forming a conductive region on a substrate; forming a bufferlayer on the conductive region; forming an opening reaching theconductive region in the buffer layer; forming a silicon layer or apolysilicon layer in a region containing the opening; removing a part ofthe silicon layer or the polysilicon layer, and forming a columnarportion containing silicon or polysilicon on the substrate; forming acharge accumulating portion in way of surrounding a side portion of thecolumnar portion; forming a control gate by way of surrounding a sideportion of the charge accumulating portion; forming an inter-layerinsulation film on the substrate including the columnar portion and thecontrol gate; and forming a contact hole in the inter-layer insulationfilm, and forming a bit line electrically connected to one end portionof the columnar portion.
 2. The method for manufacturing the NOR flashmemory as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method further comprises astep of planarizing the silicon layer or the polysilicon layer until thebuffer layer is exposed, the step of forming the buffer layer comprisesforming a first buffer layer, and forming a second buffer layer on thefirst buffer layer, the method further comprises a step of selectivelyremoving the second buffer layer after the silicon layer or thepolysilicon layer is planarized.
 3. The method for manufacturing the NORflash memory as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: diffusing adopant of the conductive region to the end portion of the columnarportion.
 4. The method for manufacturing the NOR flash memory as claimedin claim 1, further comprising: forming an insulation layer on thesubstrate, and forming a metal layer on the insulation layer, whereinthe metal layer is a high melting point silicide metal, and theconductive region is formed on the metal layer.